Safety wire twisting apparatus



Aug. 19, 1947.

H. H. ElcHoRsT SAFETY WIRE TWISTING .APPARATUS Filed May 8, 1945 Patented Aug. 19, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY WIRE TWISTIN G APPARATUS Herman H. Eichorst, San Diego, Calif.

Application May s, 1945, serial No. 592,597

7 Claims.

.for securing the same in fixed position against vibration or other disturbances;

Second, to provide an apparatus of this class which is particularly useful in relatively inaccessible places and performs a very uniform job in such places without undue effort on the part of the operator;

Third, to provide an apparatus of this classl which is particularly adapted to straighten the wire during the twisting process performed thereon;

Fourth, to provide an apparatus of this class in which the twisting performance on wire is uni-V form tending to twist hard and increase the tensile strength of the twisted wire;

Fifth, to provide an apparatus of this class which twists the wire in such a uniform manner that the hazard of wire fracture is reduced to a minimum;

Sixth, to provide an apparatus of this class which will readily and easily twist wires in either direction as desired:

Seventh, to provide an apparatus of this class in which wire is very quickly set up prior to the twisting operation thereof;

Eighth, to provide an apparatus of this class in which the wire straightening operation is performed by a hammer and anvil assembly operative parallel to the axis of the wire being twisted, and

Ninth, to provide an apparatus of this class which is very simple and economical of construction, efficient in its action and which will not readily deteriorate or get out of order.

Withthese and other objects in View as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon forming a part of this application in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my safety wire twisting apparatus showing a piece of twisted wire in operative relation therewith; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View thereof taken from the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing the twisted wire in operative position relatively thereto; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken on the same plane as that shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts and portions throughout the several views of the drawings:

The bit l, wire chuck 2, hammer 3, anvil 4, handle 5, shaft 6, chuck clamping bolt l', chuck clamping lever 3, detent screw 9, detent springs i@ and the detent pads l l constitute the principal parts and portions of my safety wire twisting apparatus.

The bit l is a cylindrical portion forming the wire holding end of my safety wire twisting apparatus and is provided with slotted portions la on opposite sides thereof through which the wire A is positioned, as shown best in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. This bit I is integral with the shaft 6 which is screw-threaded in the handle 5 at the opposite end thereof from the end portion ib of the bit l. The shaft 6 is provided with a longitudinally slotted portion 6a through which extends the chuck clamping bolt 'l which is reciprocally free in said slotted portion 6a, as shown best in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The wire chuck 2, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, is a hollow cylindrical member reciprocally mounted over the shaft B provided with an enlarged wire engaging chuck portion 2a which is slotted providing openings 2b therein on opposite sides thereof aligning with the slotted portions la of the bit I. Thus the wire A is inserted in the slotted portions la of the bit l and in the slotted portions 2b of the wire chuck 2 from which the opposite ends of the wire A extend toward the handle 5, as shown best in Fig. 2 of the drawings. It will be noted that opposite side walls 2c of the slotted portions 2b are knurled as shown in Fig. 2 in order to provide frictional engagement with the wire A when the chuck clamping lever S is in the solid l-ine position, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The chuck clamping bolt l' passes through the wire chuck 2 at right angles to the slotted portion 2b andthrough the slotted portion 6a of the shaft 5 and is engaged at one end by the eccentric ended chuck clamping lever 8 and secured on its opposite ends by the nut la. of the chuck clamping bolt 1.

As shown by dash lines B, the chuck clamping lever 8 may be shifted in order to permit the 3 resilium of the wire chuck 2 to permit separation of the jaws 2e and 2d thereof apart releasing the ends of the wire A as desired, it being noted however, that the adjustment of the nut 'la on the nut clamping bolt 1 provides for a variety of wire diameter.

The chuck clamping lever 8 is a substantially conventional eccentric type clamping lever employed particularly to force the jaws 2d and 2e of the wire chuck 2 together. This wire chuck 2 is best described as being a bifurcated cylindrical chuck having an eccentric clamping device for holding wires between the bifurcated portions of the wire chuck 2. It will be noted that this wire chuck is slidable over the shaft 6 longitudinally thereof, while the clamping bolt 1 traverses the slotted portion d thereof, as hereinbefore described.

Reciprocably mounted on the shank 2f of the wire chuck 2 is the hammer member 3 which is arranged to strike the anvil 4 screw threaded on the outer side of the shank 2f at one end thereof. This anvil 4 is reciprocally mounted in the handle 5 and is arranged to traverse the shaft 6 together with the wire chuck 2 as it is reciprocably operated on the shaft 6.

It will be here noted that the anvil 4 is longitudinally adjustable on the shaft 2f of the wire chuck 2 by means of screw threads 2g and is maintained thereon in fixed relation by means of the detent screws 9 screw-threaded in the anvil 4 in engagement with detent spring lll which exerts force on detent pads Il which provides tension on shaft 6. The detent screws 9 are adjustable so that different sized wires can be fed according to their size, as each require a variation in feed tension.

The operation of my safety wire twisting apparatus is substantially as follows: The wire A may be positioned through the hole in a lock nut or the like and the wire A extending therefrom is twisted by means of the bit I which engages opposite ends of the wire A in the slotted portion la thereof. The extended ends of the wire A are gripped between the jaw portions 2d and 2e of the wire chuck 2 against the knurled portions 2c when the chuck clamping lever 8 is in its solid line position, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. With the wire A so connected to the bit I and the wire chuck 2, the hammer 3 is forcefully reciprocated against the anvil causing the wire chuck 2 to be pulled backwardly toward the handle 5 which straightens the wire. Then the handle 5 is rotated carrying with it the shaft S and the wire chuck 2 which twists the wire. At various intervals, the operator may hit the anvil 13 with the hammer 3 or pull on the hammer which 'straightens and tightens the wire. The wire A may be twisted for a certain distance, then inserted through a series o-f lock nuts which hold certain mechanism together. In such fasteners the wire is twisted intermediate each of the lock nuts and is tightly strung therebetween in order to maintain the lock nut in certain screwthreaded xed position against the effects of vibration or the like.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions, I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction, combination and arrangement but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially `as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a safety wire twisting apparatus of the class described, the combination of a handle, a shaft in connection therewith having a bit portion on the extended end thereof provided with slotted portions on the opposite sides thereof, a hollow cylindrical wire chuck pivotally mounted on said shaft and bifurcated at one end facing said bit portion, a chuck clamping bolt arranged to force said bifurcated portions together for gripping wire therebetween.

2. In a safety wire twisting apparatus of the class described, the combination of a handle, a shaft in connection therewith having a bit portion on the extended end thereof provided with slotted portions on the opposite sides thereof, a hollow cylindrical wire chuck pivotally mounted on said shaft and bifurcated at one end facing said bit portion, a chuck clamping bolt arranged to force said bifurcated portions together for gripping wire therebetween, a hammer reciprocably mounted on said wire chuck and an anvil member secured in connection with said wire chuck engageable by said hammer for forcing said wire chuck longitudinally of said shaft relatively to said bit portion.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a shaft, a handle secured to one end thereof, the opposite end of said shaft h'aving wire receiving recessed portions on opposite sides thereof, a wire chuck having slotted portions on opposite sides thereof arranged in alignment with the wire receiving recessed portions in said shaft for holding the ends of the wire, said wire chuck reciprocably mounted on said shaft.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a shaft, a handle on one end thereof, the opposite end of said shaft having recessed portions on opposite sides thereof, a wire chuck having slotted portions on opposite sides thereof arranged in alignment with the slotted portions in said bit portion for holding the ends of the wire, said wire chuck reciprocably mounted on said shaft, and an anvil member secured on said wire chuck and a hammer reciprocably mounted on said wire chuck engageable with said anvil for forcing said wire chuck longitudinally of said shaft.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a sh'aft, a handle on one end thereof, the opposite end of said shaft having recessed portions on opposite sides thereof, a wire chuck having slotted portions on opposite sides thereof arranged in alignment with the slotted portions in said bit portion for holding the ends of the wire, said wire chuck reciprocably mounted on said shaft, an anvil member secured on said wire chuck, a hammer reciprocably mounted on said wire chuck engageable with said anvil for forcing said wire chuck longitudinally of said shaft, said shaft provided with a longitudinally slotted portion and a chuck clamping bolt extending through said shaft and said wire chuck, said wire chuck having a bifurcated end portion through which said chuck clamping bolt extends, and a chuck clamping lever in connection with one end of said bolt arranged to force said bifurcated portions of said wire chuck together.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a shaft having longitudinally slotted portions at opposite sides th'ereof communicating with one end thereof, a hollow cylindrical Wire chuck bifurcated at one end and reciprocably mounted over said shaft, said shaft provided with a longitudinally slotted portion, a clamping bolt extending through said longitudinally slotted portion and the bifurcated end of said wire chuck arranged to force the bifurcated portions thereof together for holding Wire therebetween in alignment with the slotted portions of said shaft at one end thereof.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a shaft having longitudinally slotted portions at opposite sides thereof cornmunicating with one end thereof, a hollow cylindrical wire chuck bifurcated at one end and reciprocably mounted over said shaft, said shaft provided with a longitudinally slotted portion, a clamping bolt extending through said longitudinally slotted portion and the bifurcated end of said wire chuck arranged to force the bifurcated portions thereof together for holding wire therebetween in alignment with the slotted portions of said shaft at one end thereof, a ham- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le or" this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,387,249 Foulder Aug. 9, 1921 2,006,355 Howell July 2, 1935 20 1,186,781 Henry June 13J 1916 1,858,063 Skinner May 10, 1932 

